Cosmothea includes both visually traditional races such as dwarves and elves, and many exotic ones as well. While we have maintained some of the classics that so many love, we have also put our own spin on their origins and lore, customs and more and have introduced a large number of new ones.

You will no doubt recognize four of the twelve PC races included in Foundation: Core Rulebook 1. The races are robust, with many talents and colorful histories you can explore, ensuring that no two PC's of the same race will be alike. The variety has been made even greater by the inclusion of race variants to represent the many regions and worlds in which each race may be found.

Some worlds, like Adara, are predominantly magic-based fantasy-themed worlds, while others are more heavily blended.

Since the earliest days of developing the setting, we've gone off the beaten path to develop a new feel for magic and provide cool support gear for wielding it; gear that’s not just functional, but also impressive to behold.

Our goal was, and still is, to make mages not simply somebody in a robe with a wand, but an icon whose very presence intimidates. Wands were replaced with racassas and f’lantii, offering a much broader range of visual themes and mechanical benefits than wands have offered in games you may be used to. A power template replaced the classic spell book, and shards fill the role scrolls do in games like D&D.

The support gear can appear like almost anything you can imagine; enabling you to create a mage that perfectly embodies the theme you are going for. The same goes for spells, miracles, enchantments and super powers. You define their appearance. Together with the gear and the nature of Cosmothean magic, you walk away with a clean system and a magic wielder that’s exactly as cool and functional as you want.

Thousands of years ago, Shapers discovered the flesh-tainting side effects of wielding magic, and many fell to the Withering, before learning how to channel their power through floating templates. Arcane repositories that safely bare the bulk of a mage’s power, arcane templates store runes and formulas needed to shape magic, and enable their owners to customize and expand their options. Though mages have advanced to the point of being able to efficiently use magic, it is still an art form and there are many mysteries surrounding its nature.

Magic dueling has also been taken to a new level with Cosmothea. In addition to the normal flow of combat, if two or more mages are in battle, they can enter a duel that transcends the normal battlefield, manifesting guardians and launching magical champions to assault another mage’s template, causing a wide variety of special effects and hazards and it's even possible to assault a target's arcane gear as well. Check out our Magic videos for more on this exciting, unusual magic system!

Below, is the map of the Southern Kingdoms of Adara, one of four maps of that world. It is but one of many, many worlds within the vast, Cosmoverse Campaign Setting. More to come!